I found a little piece of heaven
tucked away in the rolling hills.
Silence, except for the
chirping birds and
the trains.

How did they know
when the mason set
that first stone,
that the mournful drone
of the freight cars,
that sound wraps
around my heart
and takes me home
and whispers, “Sleep,
sleep my little one,
you are safe”?

How did they know
I would come someday
to the silence,
only for the chirping
birds and the long, low
calling of the trains?

He knew.
He knew his
beautiful, beloved
daughter
would find her way
to the silence.

He would wait with
the patience love allows.

He would be there
waiting
for his beautiful, beloved
daughter
in the silence,
but for the promise
of chirping birds
and the peace of the
freight trains.

Author’s Note:
A few weeks ago I attended my first silent retreat at the Sacred Heart Retreat House is Sedalia. Only a few minutes outside of Denver, it is a mystical place.  One does not understand how quiet, or maybe loud is more accurate, it can be when talking or music or the unconscious slamming of doors or clopping down the hall is when silence is the rule. You would think it would be oppressive this silence. But when I awoke the first morning to look out my window to see four mule deer grazing on the grass and the sun rising over the hills, I thanked God for this silence, this peace.  I wrote this poem my first evening after our first “lecture” by Father Kinerk. I have come to accept my role as “His beautiful, beloved daughter.” The quiet opened a world to me that has forever changed me.  It is a work in progress that I gladly rejoice in and am truly thankful for this Easter Day.

This photo is from The Sacred House Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colorado http://www.sacredheartretreat.org/retreats.html